Singing Divas Who Wore Painfully High Heels While Performing

Pregnant women wearing heels is something that I will never understand. Yes, Kim Kardashian, you look beautiful in those Loubies carrying your second child, but HOW are you not opting for some Yeezy’s at this point? Maybe I’ll get it when I’m pregnant one day and want to show off my calf muscles, but until then, here’s something equally as baffling: singers wearing stilettos. While performing.

Mariah Carey and Britney Spears are among the following singing divas who couldn’t quit their heels for their live performances, which really makes me feel like I have no excuse for trying to wear sneakers to the club. It probably took them hours of practice of just walking around the stage in their heels before actually singing and dancing in them, but this is all a part of being a pop culture icon, isn’t it?

1 Beyonce

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Beyonce’s feet blessed these stilettos when she wore them during her “Love On Top” performance at the 2011 MTV VMAs. Bey belted, danced, and announced that she was pregnant with Blue Ivy in these heels, which is enough to make them a priceless part of pop culture history. The higher the heel, the closer to Beysus.

2 Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift isn’t particularly daring in her shoe choices, as evidenced by this photo of her sporting extra strappy heels while on her 1989 World Tour. But put yourself in her shoes for a moment: If you were five-foot-ten, you’d have a long way down if you fall. So you’d want your heels strapped on extra tight, too. Right?

Nicki Minaj made her love of heels – Giuseppe Zanotti, to be precise – public when she broke ground with her verse on “Monster.” FYI, Giuseppe heels average about $700. Maybe you can blame a girl for spending too much on shoes, but you can’t blame her for having great taste.

5 Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga has proved time and time again that she’s not afraid of heights – or falling, for that matter. Though she’s known to sport ridiculously high heels in music videos (“Bad Romance,” for example), on red carpets, and nights out on the town, Gaga tends to tone down the heel height just a little for her live shows. And that’s totally okay, considering the fact that she once had to cancel dates on her Born This Way Ball because of a hip injury.

6 Britney Spears

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It’s hard to see just how high these heels are underneath Britney’s parachute pants, but let’s eyeball it. Looking at BritBrit’s right heel, these babies look to be at least four inches high. For you non-heel-wearers, these are the kind of out-on-the-town-shoes that make a girl seriously consider going barefoot in the street.

7 Madonna

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Wearing heels is a workout. Seriously. All it takes to get in shape is a three-hour shopping trip on 5th Avenue wearing a pair of heels. Fitness guru Madonna knows this, which is why she kills two birds with one stone and opts for heels while performing. The result? Her perfectly chiseled legs.

8 Ariana Grande

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Precious songbird Ariana Grande may be petite (she’s five-foot even), but that doesn’t make her shy away from heels. This diva loves a good heel (and foot), as evidenced by her many Instagrams of shoes.

Let Tina Turner be an inspiration to us all. This queen was still performing in heels in 2009 – when she was 70 years old. If I make it to 40 without developing back issues from wearing stilettos, I’ll consider myself accomplished in life.